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A guy at our library book club in Omaha said he skips the last chapter of every book
Honestly, it happened last Tuesday during our talk about 'The Great Gatsby'. This older guy, Mark, just said he never reads the final pages because he likes to imagine his own ending. He said, 'The author's finish is just one idea, why should it be mine?' It really split the room, half of us thought it was crazy and half kind of got it. Has anyone else met a reader with a rule like that?
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kai_chen25mo ago
No way, I totally get that! My cousin does the exact same thing with movies, she'll walk out of the theater right before the last scene. She says it keeps the story alive in her head forever and she hates when a bad ending ruins it. I tried it once with a mystery novel and it just drove me nuts not knowing who did it. I guess for some people the fun is in the guesswork, not the answer.
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emma4555mo ago
Sounds wild to me lol. The whole point is seeing how the story ends.
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simonk985mo ago
Right? It would drive me crazy too... I need that closure, that final piece to put the whole puzzle together. Not knowing would just leave me feeling antsy and distracted for days. The ending is the whole payoff for sticking with the story. I could never just walk away from it.
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violag803mo ago
Oh, I read an article about this once. Apparently it's called "narrative closure avoidance" or something like that. Some people honestly get more enjoyment out of the mystery than the resolution. @emma455 I used to think it was completely nuts too, but now I kind of see the appeal for some stories. Still couldn't do it myself though. I'd end up googling the ending at 2am anyway.
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